Prepare the table, watch in the watchtower, eat, drink: arise, ye princes, and anoint the shield.

ISAIAH 21:5KJV
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Isaiah 21:5 (KJV)

What does Isaiah 21:5 mean?

Isaiah 21:5 portrays a feast suddenly interrupted by a call to prepare for battle. People are told to set the table, keep watch, eat, and drink; then the princes are ordered to get up and ready their shields. The sharp change in commands brings the danger close.

The verse presents the scene through a series of urgent instructions rather than a full account of events. The command to anoint the shield pictures battle preparations: oil could help keep a leather-covered shield from becoming dry and brittle.

The Hebrew behind Isaiah 21:5

  • “princes” — שַׂר (sar): This word often means a leader or official. Here the command addresses people with authority, calling them away from the table to prepare for danger.
  • “anoint” — מָשַׁח (mashach): This word means to apply or smear oil. In Isaiah 21:5, the object is a shield, so the action is part of making equipment ready for use.

Why Isaiah 21:5 matters

  • The verse sets ordinary enjoyment beside an urgent threat. “Eat, drink” is followed abruptly by “arise, ye princes,” with no pause between the two scenes.
  • The call to watch fits the wider passage’s concern with news of an attack. In verse 6, a watchman is told to report what he sees.
  • The scene belongs to a message about Babylon’s fall. The report in verse 9, “Babylon is fallen,” gives the alarm in verse 5 its place within the passage.

Where else these words appear

“watch” Hebrew H6822 · used in 35 verses

  • Genesis 31:49 And Mizpah; for he said, The LORD watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another.
  • 2 Kings 9:20 And the watchman told, saying, He came even unto them, and cometh not again: and the driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi; for he driveth furiously.
  • Jeremiah 6:17 Also I set watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We will not hearken.

“shield” Hebrew H4043 · used in 60 verses

  • Genesis 15:1 After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.
  • 2 Chronicles 32:5 Also he strengthened himself, and built up all the wall that was broken, and raised it up to the towers, and another wall without, and repaired Millo in the city of David, and made darts and shields in abundance.
  • Psalms 115:10 O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD: he is their help and their shield.

“table” Hebrew H7979 · used in 62 verses

  • Exodus 25:23 Thou shalt also make a table of shittim wood: two cubits shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof.
  • 1 Samuel 20:29 And he said, Let me go, I pray thee; for our family hath a sacrifice in the city; and my brother, he hath commanded me to be there: and now, if I have found favour in thine eyes, let me get away, I pray thee, and see my brethren. Therefore he cometh not unto the king's table.
  • Nehemiah 5:17 Moreover there were at my table an hundred and fifty of the Jews and rulers, beside those that came unto us from among the heathen that are about us.

“anoint” Hebrew H4886 · used in 66 verses

  • Genesis 31:13 I am the God of Bethel, where thou anointedst the pillar, and where thou vowedst a vow unto me: now arise, get thee out from this land, and return unto the land of thy kindred.
  • Numbers 6:15 And a basket of unleavened bread, cakes of fine flour mingled with oil, and wafers of unleavened bread anointed with oil, and their meat offering, and their drink offerings.
  • 1 Kings 1:34 And let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there king over Israel: and blow ye with the trumpet, and say, God save king Solomon.